Austin Skeeball League ready to kick off next "skeeson" of play

Austin Skeeball League open for next "skeeson" registration

Skeeball is a magical thing: Even when kids' entertainment centers became packed with the newest, flashiest arcade video games, you still threw away most of your quarters on the skeeball lanes. Anyone could play it, and a few could master it if they had enough coins (and time) on hand.

If you want to relive those nostalgic glory days with some buddies and some brews, think up a clever team name and sign up by May 21 for the Austin Skeeball League’s upcoming “skeeson” of competitive play.

Recognizing the merit of a game that allows one to play with one hand while holding a beer in the other, Paige Powell, Correy Reiling and Brandon Greer formed the skeeball league in Austin.

“We started the league as a way to get all of our friends together, to just have a good time,” says Powell. “We thought about doing bowling, but that seemed too hard. We had seen skeeball leagues popping up all over the country so we thought we'd try it. Smaller balls, more beer!”

In nearly a dozen seasons, the league has expanded from playing on a few lanes at a campus hookah bar to five lanes of play at Lavaca Bar and around 65 registered teams.

With Skeeson 11 set to start on May 22, the league holds competitions on both Wednesday and Sunday nights and sends players to compete with other city leagues like College Station, Fort Worth, Lubbock and San Antonio. Despite the continuing growth outside the city limits, Powell proclaims that Austin is still the main focus.

“We’re looking to make [the next season] bigger and badder than ever,” says Powell. “We have some kick ass new prizes, and we're getting some love from our friends at Miller Lite to help make sure all of our rollers are having a hell of a time.”

“Our atmosphere is competitive, but in a friendly way,” says Powell. “Everyone wants to win, and everyone wants to roll well — but at the end of the day, each team is high-fiving their competitors and giving credit where it's deserved. It's become a family where a lot of the rollers hang out together on non-league nights.”

If you believe fun is best enjoyed with friends, beer and gaming nostalgia, registration for Skeeson 11 is open until May 21. Good luck trying to come up with a better name than “867-5skee09.”